The Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) has called on the government to speed up the legal process of two persecution cases allegedly committed by military and police officers against civilians in Maluku and Papua.

On Thursday, Kontras said it had assisted in the legal process of the cases involving La Gode in Taliabu, South Maluku, and Isak in Kimaam, Merauke in Papua. Both were reportedly tortured to death by security officers.

“In La Gode’s case, the police have named 10 people as suspects but they have not yet revealed who they are, whether they have been detained and which law they have been charged with,” said the commission’s coordinator, Yati Andriyani.

The activist further added that three members of the Yalet 755 Infantry Battalion had allegedly tortured Isak to death in November 2017 in Merauke, Papua. Kontras’ investigation revealed that the military had not taken immediate action to tackle the problem or named a suspect in the case.

“Instead, the military gave the victim’s family ‘condolence money’ to hold a funeral procession,” Yati said.

She added that the police, as a law enforcement institution, had also abandoned the case.

Yati raised concerns that the military and police officers in remote areas often failed to do their job of providing security and safety to people. She was disappointed that the personnel chose to hand out an amount of money to the victim’s family instead of taking full responsibility. (vla/ebf)